HONOLULU — J.J. Spahn birdied up and down the par-5 18th hole for a 5-under 65 on Saturday, a final birdie that gave him the lead at the Sony Open One shot into the final round, over a dozen players remaining.
Spann had bogeys and birdies on his final four holes on a windy Waialae course, missing shots that cost him and Patrick Fishburne a chance to pull away.
Instead, the same old scene played out on the shore east of Waikiki Beach. With its doglegs, deep bunkers and unpredictable Bermuda rough, this old-school course has a way of staying at the top of the leaderboard until the very end.
Germany's Stephen Jaeger is best known as the only man to beat Scottie Scheffler at last year's Houston Open during Scheffler's most dominant period Scheffler ), who had nine birdies in a 62, but wasn't sure where that would put him when he finished.
He was one shot behind Fishburne (68) and Eric Kerr (67).
Jaeger entered the third round six shots behind. There are 40 players between him and the two players on the leaderboard.
“That's when you're in trouble,” Jaeger said. “You either have a good game and have a chance … or you play a good game and compete, which is good.”
Fishburne, making his Sony debut as a sophomore in Utah, was the only player to finish at 14 under thanks to a birdie on the par-5 9th for a 31 pole and created some gaps. But he made just one birdie the rest of the way, hitting a wedge that rolled 360 yards into a headwind and rolled through the cup. He also had three bogeys and failed to birdie the par-5 final hole.
Spahn finished at 13-under 197.
“I feel very calm and relaxed out there. It's been a fun week in Hawaii,” he said. “It's always laid back and easy-going. I've always had that mentality on the court and it's easy to feel that way when things are going your way and you're playing well. Try to hone in tomorrow and see. What happens happens.
A couple of Fishburne's missed shots put a lot of people back into the tournament.
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley birdied the final two holes for a 64, two shots behind a group that included Canadian Nick Taylor (65), former British Open champion Bruce Ryan Harman (66) and Zozo Championship winner Nico Echavarria of Chile, who shot a bogey-free 66 in the wind last fall in Japan.
“As soon as we turned the corner, it became more difficult,” Fishburne said. “The wind was pretty strong on the left side and the pins were on the left side, so it was a tricky setup.”
The group three shots behind includes Lucas Glover and Gary Woodland, who returned from brain surgery at the Sony Open a year ago.
Woodland, who shot his second consecutive 66, has played at Waialae enough to know that the tournament is usually crowded — the exception being Justin Thomas in 2017, when he shot a PGA Tour-record 253 records—and a winner might appear out of thin air.
“If you can get warm, you can run,” Woodland said. “I wouldn't be shocked if someone comes from behind and posts a number. Everything is going in the right direction. There's a couple guys posting a good number. Hopefully that'll be me tomorrow.”
Jaeger stood out in the lower rounds of the tournament. He made a pair of 20-foot birdies on the front nine – he started on No. 10 – and got a huge boost with a birdie on the eighth hole from just under 60 feet. He hit a 4-foot wedge for birdie on the par-5 ninth hole.
“I hit it pretty aggressive off the tee, with a lot of drivers. If I can get them in the fairway, I'm going to have a lot of short shots,” Jaeger said. “If you miss the fairway, you've got to be creative, hit the ball on the green and make a nice birdie putt. Nothing's going to change. The game feels good, so I'm excited for tomorrow.”
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